Changes in Comprehensive Health Literacy Among First-Time Parents Attending Extended Home Visiting in Swedish Multicultural Settings: A Case-Comparison Study

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to gain knowledge about the impact of an extended postnatal home visiting program on parents' comprehensive health literacy (CHL) in multicultural, socioeconomically disadvantaged Swedish settings. METHOD: This quasi-experimental study adopted a case-control sampling method recruiting first-time parents through two Child Health Care Centers in Stockholm. Participants were interviewed twice through structured questionnaires when their child was aged between less than two months (n = 193) and 15-18 months (n = 151) from October 2017 to August 2020. Analyses used linear regression models and nonparametric tests. RESULTS: A subgroup of parents that needed language interpreters demonstrated statistically significantly improved CHL from premeasures to postmeasures within the intervention group that received an extended home visiting intervention (F = 11.429; p <.001), and when compared with a corresponding subgroup that received merely the ordinary Swedish Child Health Care Centers program (F = 5.025; p = .027). DISCUSSION: Postnatal home visiting interventions may reduce inequity in CHL for parents living in multicultural, socioeconomically disadvantaged settings.